Black Rhodium Coda review

Typical Black Rhodium cables do the job well

Our Verdict

Superb bass, neutral midrange and sweet treble add up to a fine all-round performance. Constricted top the only flaw.

For

Great all-round sound

Against

Treble is occasionally closed in

This cable embodies a number of Black Rhodium design features, notably the use of silicone-rubber insulation and an unscreened construction with two identical conductors twisted together.

These are made of stranded silver-plated copper and terminate in Eichmann 'BulletPlugs', the funky plastic-bodied ones with minimal metal-to-metal contact provided by a single earth pin. It's a perfectly workable arrangement, though they're a very tight fit in most sockets and should be used with care.

The cable itself is soft and very flexible despite its generous 9mm diameter, and the two channels are twisted together, which reduces the chance of hum pickup. We certainly had no problems on test either with this or with any other kind of troublesome interference.

The sound of this interconnect strikes us as admirable in just about every way. The strongest criticism we could make of it is that just occasionally, in very busy music, the treble can seem a touch closed in and lacking air and acoustic space - but then, very few cables completely nail that aspect of performance.

Lower down the spectrum, tonality is excellent, and there's also a great deal of detail on offer, effortlessly presented so as to avoid fussiness but make analytical listening possible, without undue exertion. And bass is strong but immaculately controlled, and as a result both tuneful and rhythmic, as required.